Remembering Lauren Astley at 'Keep on Sparkling' event

Thursday

Jun 6, 2013 at 12:01 AMJun 6, 2013 at 6:17 AM

The second annual “Keep on Sparkling” fashion show on Saturday night at Sandy Burr Country Club will once again celebrate the life of Wayland High School graduate Lauren Dunne Astley, who died on July 4, 2011, and raise money for the fund in her name.

Sindhu Sreedhar

The second annual “Keep on Sparkling” fashion show on Saturday night at Sandy Burr Country Club will once again celebrate the life of Wayland High School graduate Lauren Dunne Astley, who died on July 4, 2011, and raise money for the fund in her name.

Lauren’s parents, Malcolm Astley and Mary Dunne, started the fund to “make something good come out of this terrible tragedy,” said Astley.

Lauren’s ex-boyfriend Nathaniel Fujita was convicted in early March of murdering the 18-year-old, and her family wants to prevent similar tragedies from occurring.

The fund has three main goals – to promote healthy relationships, the arts, and community service.

Malcolm Astley and Mary Dunne recently testified at the State House for legislation to require education on healthy relationships and violence prevention. It is estimated that 100,000 young women die as a result of domestic violence every year.

As a result, the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education revised its guidelines, now requiring that “health education in public schools has to include instruction in safe and healthy relationships and with a focus on preventing sexual and domestic violence.”

“We like to think that we had some impact because shortly after that, these guidelines came out, and I know it was locked up in committee for a long time before that,” Astley said.

The Lauren Dunne Astley fund also promotes local productions of plays that address the topic of abusive relationships, such as “The Yellow Dress.”

“The Yellow Dress” shows the issue that many young women face – no one goes into an abusive relationship, but it forms around them, and it is important to watch out for the warning signs.

The fund has received donations from all over the country, and some of the money will be used to purchase educational materials on healthy relationships and to make them available online for viewing.

This Saturday’s fashion show was organized by Angela Zachery, Christa Oppenheim and Alison Stowell.

“Lauren was Angela’s babysitter, and the three of us were at my house for a dinner party and we were talking about the tragedy and I looked at Angela and Christa and I said we have to do something,” Stowell said.

Stowell and Oppenheim didn’t know Lauren, but they knew they wanted to honor her memory.

“As a complete stranger, but knowing this was happening to a parent in Wayland, I walked around for weeks not being able to get over it, and we were complete strangers, but together we knew we wanted to do something,” Oppenheim said.

They decided that a fashion show would be the perfect way to honor Lauren’s memory because of her love for clothing and design.

“The ‘Keep on Sparkling’ theme came from Lauren, but it’s focused on other kids and their own sparkle,” Astley said. “The fashion show ties in with the theme of building esteem and resiliency.”

The first “Keep on Sparkling” show took place last year and was a tremendous success.

“It was a wonderful memorial, it was a wonderful tribute, it was a great fundraiser, and it was a great afternoon,” Stowell said.

This year, the show will feature performances by a jazz band and the Wayland High a cappella group the Muses, of which Lauren was a member.

There will also be several auction items, including trips and concert tickets, to raise money for Lauren’s fund.

“It’s such an incredible foundation and the work that the family is doing is affecting our children,” Oppenheim said.

The event on Saturday will take place from 7 to 10 p.m. at Sandy Burr Country Club in Wayland. Tickets are on sale online (http://laurendunneastleymemorialfund.org). Find it on Facebook at Keep On Sparkling.

Note all tickets purchased will be on a will call list at the door. No paper tickets will be mailed.

Tickets are $75 for adults and $25 for students under 21 years of age. Tickets offer entry into the event, access to the retail opportunity, appetizers and musical entertainment. There will be a cash bar available.